NEVADA, Mo. — A crowd of about 50 people are already seated with omelets and biscuits and gravy at a diner in Nevada, Mo., when GOP Rep. Mark Alford walks in. He smiles as he recognizes two constituents from a town hall earlier in the day who aren't his biggest fans.

"Hey, you guys are my roadies!" he said as he stopped by their table to shake their hands.

August is when Congress trades the swampy D.C. summer with time back home. It's typically when lawmakers host town halls, forums that have become increasingly less popular with Republican members.

But Alford is bucking that trend, hosting not one, but 15 town halls over four days.

"I love interacting with people," the former broadcast news journalist told NPR after day one of his tour wrapped Monday. "I actually like arguing with p

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